The Priory Singers celebrated the tenth anniversary of their
first rehearsal in late 2009 and recorded this disc in 2010
as part of their celebrations. It includes pieces, so their
‘blurb’ says in the rather slim booklet, that are typical of
their repertoire and of their concerts. The booklet does not
make clear where they are based. However the recording was made
in Newport and anyway their very good website tells us that
they are based in South Wales. Their membership is a mixture
of professional, semi-professional and amateur singers. The
repertoire ranges from Tudor anthems to contemporary arrangements
and this cross-section is represented on this CD.

As can seen from the heading we move rapidly around from Byrd
and Sullivan to Negro spirituals and tasteful arrangements of
recent popular music. It’s the sort of varied repertoire that
keeps a choir interested and on their toes. Each style or type
of piece needs a differing approach either in technique or in
vocal colouring.

On the plus side I should say immediately that if this choir
came to my town I would go to hear them. They have a fresh enthusiasm
which is infectious and an evening in their presence would give
much pleasure. In addition the CD has many good things about
it. For example the arrangements of the popular songs, those
by Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Barry Manilow. Manilow’s song
ends the CD with a burst of power and joy. Stephanie Benavente’s
skilful arrangement seems to be very much in the choir’s bloodstream.
They seem well suited to and most comfortable in these arrangements.
Incidentally three members of Benavente family are listed: there’s
also a lovely soloist, Genevieve Benavente. In fact each of
the soloists and there are six listed, has good diction, and
clear attractive voices. Although there are occasional moments
of wobbly intonation in the choir they are almost unnoticeable.

There are several things about the presentation of this CD which
need to be commented upon for the benefit of potential purchasers.
It is to be hoped that these things can be taken on board for
future CDs that the Priory Singers might produce. The double
page insert contains two attractive black and white photos of
the choir and something of their history but although it was
probably too much to expect texts to be reproduced there are
no comments at all about the individual pieces nor any account
of how they came to be chosen. Secondly the repertoire is fairly
standard stuff and as the longest piece is just less than five
minutes (the negro spiritual) there is no single work which
really shows the choir off. The recording weighs in at less
than 45 minutes which nowadays is unusually short-winded. Surely
a more demanding, longer and more complex piece, perhaps something
renaissance, could have been accommodated so that the choir’s
full potential might have been more fully demonstrated. Curiously,
as there is so much spare CD space it is surprising that there
is very little time between the tracks. For example the Bruckner
runs almost imperceptibly into the spiritual.

With such a wide repertoire clear characterisation of each style
and work is important. I have already mentioned how the popular
arrangements generally come off well,. However more distinction
of character is needed elsewhere. As one moves between Byrd,
Pearsall and Jerome Kern there is a danger that everything comes
out sounding the same.

The recording has a keen sparkle and clarity. This enables the
words to shine out. The stereo spacing is clear and well focused.
For some tastes the slight emphasis towards the upper voices
might mean that the treble of the amplifier needs to be turned
down a little more than usual.

Nevertheless, despite these cavils there is much here to enjoy
and much latent virtue in the choir. Let’s hope that they are
able to follow up this recording and continue to work and develop
as a successful unit in the years ahead.

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